Glasgow-based ScottishPower has been rated one of the worst five businesses in Britain for customer services in new research by the consumer organisation Which?
Only Ryanair was considered less customer friendly than Scottish Power which was rated second-worst out of 100 popular British brands.
The energy supplier’s customers told Which? they did not feel valued, with over one in three of their customers going as far as to say they found the energy supplier ‘arrogant’.
It got a customer service score of 45%, with Ryanair just one percentage point behind.
ScottishPower got one star out of five in three categories for making customers feel valued, the attitude and helpfulness of staff and its efficiency with resolving complaints or problems.
Nearly three in four gave ScottishPower a poor rating for its handling of complaints, according to Which?.
Big telecoms brands such as BT, TalkTalk, and Virgin Media make up the rest of the bottom five.
READ MORE: Scottish Power loses 120000 customers in year
Which? said that those languishing near the bottom had let customer service standards slide in recent years.
Ryanair, like ScottishPower got the lowest rating of one star in all three customer satisfaction categories. When asked about how well the airline handles complaints, half (50%) gave it the lowest rating possible.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon officially opened the new Scottish Power HQ in Glasgow in 2017
Presented with a choice of 50 words to describe the airline, most of the airline’s passengers opted for ‘greedy’, ‘sneaky’ and ‘arrogant’, with one going as far as to say “Ryanair seem to make things deliberately difficult in order to make more money out of their customers".
Other airlines included in the survey fared only slightly better. British Airways (66%) found itself in 83rd place, a few spots under the highest ranking airline included in the survey, Easyjet (68%), which came in 79th place.
Harry Rose, the Which? editor said: “While it’s good to see some familiar everyday brands flying the flag for great customer service, people spend a lot of money with their utility providers and on flights, so it’s disappointing to see some woeful performance across the board in those sectors.
READ MORE: Scottish Power to use 100% wind power after selling off last coal and gas stations
“The best way to send a clear message to businesses about the importance of customer service is to spend your hard-earned cash with brands that make it a top priority - and don’t hesitate to complain if you feel you’ve been treated poorly.”
The Bank of Scotland was the only Scottish company to figure in the top half of the Which? ratings finishing equal 38th with a 76% satisfaction rating.
Glasgow-established House of Fraser was rated equal 83rd, the Royal Bank of Scotland was equal 76th and Perth-based energy firm SSE was equal 72nd.
Online bank First Direct took the top slot with a customer service score of 89 per cent and customers who were overwhelmingly positive. Two-thirds (65%) gave it the highest rating possible for the attitude of its staff, with one customer telling Which? it is “the human touch” that sets it apart.
Lakeland (87%) was the highest-rated retailer, stood out for the attitude of its staff where it scored the full five-stars. This was reinforced by most customers opting for the word ‘helpful’ when given a list of words to describe the brand.
Mike Ashley's Sports Direct (58%) on the other hand, was rated as the worst retailer for customer service. Customers told Which? that the sporting apparel shop did not make them feel valued, earning it the lowest rating of one star in this category.
The research, carried out in June, asked nearly 4,000 to rate their experiences of customer service covering whether or not the companies make them feel valued, how helpful and knowledgeable their staff are, and how they handle complaints.
Respondents were also asked to rate specific elements of customer service on a scale of very poor to excellent and were also given a list of 50 adjectives and asked which they associated most strongly with each brand.
Colin McNeill, chief executive of ScottishPower Retail, said: “No company wants to be near the bottom of any customer survey and we are continuing with our efforts to improve. This result does not reflect our commitment to our customers.
“We know there are improvements to be made, however this survey is inconsistent with other recent customer service studies, notably the highly comprehensive Citizen’s Advice Scorecard that placed ScottishPower 15th out of 39 energy companies.”
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